Ford Kuga-based Jeep Compass rival to launch in India this year - Report

Ford plans to expand its range of SUVs in India to three models. According to a report from CarWale, the company will launch a Jeep Compass-rivaling Ford Kuga-based SUV in the country.

The Ford Kuga-based SUV could have a starting price in the INR 15-20 lakh bracket.

Just a couple years back, not many C-segment SUVs were available in India. Things have changed now, though. The Hyundai Tucson returned to the market in 2016. The VW Tiguan followed last year. To spike the demand of C-SUVs to a whole new level, Jeep rolled out its bargain-priced Jeep Compass, which sold over 10,000 units in just four months. Now, Ford also wants to bring a C-SUV to India.

The Ford Kuga, also known as Ford Escape, may not fit well in the Indian market in terms of pricing. Ford is developing a new model based on it. Interestingly, the current generation Ford Kuga is nearing the end of its lifecycle and the next-gen Ford Kuga is already under development internationally. In 2016, Ford had imported the Ford Kuga for R&D purposes and a test mule was spotted testing on the roads.

The report claims that the Ford Kuga-based SUV's launch will take place this year, but Ford probably hasn't even begun its road testing. Before this SUV, Ford will roll-out the Ford Figo Cross (Ford Figo Freestyle), by June.